Deere & Company Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:DE)

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 13,202 call options on the company. This is an increase of 172% compared to the average volume of 4,858 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Deere & Company news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total value of $5,553,888.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 112,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,235,496.24. This trade represents a 8.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DE. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter worth $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter worth $27,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 69.2% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on DE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $542.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $543.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Deere & Company from $440.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Deere & Company from $609.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $522.70.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $470.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.22. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $403.01 and a fifty-two week high of $533.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $473.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $484.07.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.The firm had revenue of $12.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 35.01%.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.